DAD and Ahmadiyya

Mr. Jinnah in London

My birthday came and went without notice.

I was born on Direct Action Day  (DAD), proclaimed by Muhammed Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League in order to demonstrate to the British and to the Congress Party the depth of Muslim feeling for their own state.
The very day, not just the same date, but that very day.

Unfortunately, there were ancient grudges that overcame the intended peaceful demonstrations, and the day was the occasion of rioting between Hindu and Muslim, in which 4,000 people were killed.

 Calcutta Riot Aftermath

Against this background, British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan. There was a ceaseless chorus of violence and suffering as peoples moved to follow their religious lines.

India had Mr. Nehru, who lived another 17 years after partition to guide his state. Pakistan, however, lost Mr. Jinnah 17 months after partition. That loss of guidance was severely felt and is still felt in Pakistan.

In 1947, Mr. Jinnah addressed Pakistan's constituent assembly in a speech which described his vision:

You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are
free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship
in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any
religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the
business of the State. As you know, history shows that
in England, conditions, some time ago, were much worse
than those prevailing in India today.

The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other.
Even now there are some States in existence where there
are discriminations made and bars imposed against a
particular class. Thank God, we are not starting in those
days.

We are starting in the days where there is no discrimination,
no distinction between one community and
another, no discrimination between one caste or creed
and another. We are starting with this fundamental
principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one
State

In 2015 we read in Dawn about the ongoing persecution of the Ahmadi minority in Pakistan:
(Their faith is described as Ahmadiyya)

A vulnerable minority
Editorial — Updated a day ago

http://www.dawn.com/news/1211332/pakistans-ahmadis-a-vulnerable-minority

PERSECUTION can be overt at times, subtle and insidious at others; and most people would likely agree that it is an ugly, despicable thing. However, there is one minority community in Pakistan — the Ahmadis — against whom persecution of both kinds not only exists but is celebrated as a virtue by sections of the majority.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan held a consultative meeting with members of the community on Sunday to explore the issue and perhaps, in the process, attempt to hold up a mirror to society’s unconscionable collusion in discrimination against them.

On the occasion, examples were cited from various aspects of life, including educational institutions and the workplace, where they are subjected to humiliation and harassment, as well as in the media — where hate speech against them may have even incited the murder of some members of the community.

The HRCP panelists recounted Pakistan’s legislative history whereby adherents of the minority faith were declared non-Muslim through a constitutional amendment in 1974; that was later followed by Gen Ziaul Haq making it a punishable offence for Ahmadis to call themselves Muslim, to refer to their call to prayer as ‘azan’ or their places of worship as ‘masjid’...

This is not Mr. Jinnah's Pakistan, not by a long chalk.

It is especially ironic since an Ahmadi missionary in London convinced Mr. Jinnah in 1934 to make a return to politics:

The Rabwah Times
Jinnah persuaded to return to politics by Ahmadiyya Missionary
Posted about 1 year ago
https://www.rabwah.net/jinnah-persuaded-return-politics-ahmadiyya/

The history behind Jinnah’s return to Indian politics in 1934 makes for an inconvenient truth. The man whose eloquent persuasion left Jinnah no escape in returning to politics, has been forgotten in the annals of official Pakistani history. That man was not Liaqat Ali Khan and certainly not Dr. Muhammad Iqbal but Abdur Rahim Dard – an Ahmadi missionary in London.

August 14, Pakistan Independence Day, is a date of great significance for Pakistanis everywhere but it has a particular resonance for Matiallah Dard, vice-chairman of Bexley Multi-Faith Forum and Thamesmead Inter-Faith Forum.

It was Mr Dard’s uncle, Maulana Abdur Rahmin Dard, who persuaded Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder and first leader of Pakistan, to leave London to go and further the cause of Muslims back home in India...

 

 Imam of London Mosque Abdur Rahim Dard

The London Mosque, the first to be built in London

What is Irony but the foretaste of Karma's advent?

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